“I think that the American people should know that members of Congress are underpaid. I understand it’s widely felt that they underperform, but the fact is that this is the board of directors for the largest economic entity in the world, and a lot of members can’t even afford to live decently when they are at their job in Washington.”

Moran was referring to members’ living quarters when in Washington. He said that members of Congress should be entitled to per diem to rectify the problem, such as what many states provide their legislators.

As to a specific per diem amount, Moran has not yet considered that but he said it should be consistent with what the government pays other federal employees.

Members of Congress currently earn $174,000 per year. The Associated Press recently reported that the House is moving to freeze pay for a fourth year in a row for Congress. Moran intends to introduce an amendment to the House bill that would give Congressmen a per diem payment to cover housing costs.

Jim Moran announced earlier this year that he will retire from his position in Congress.

The audio from the interview is included below.

Want to see more articles like this one? Sign up for FedSmith's free email lists!